Scripture Reference:
Matthew 27:28 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers, And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
* note: the content of the following teaching is not my own, it is taken from excellent teaching by Gavin Porter from a series called God's Vision God's Mission. You can access the full teaching on YouTube by following this link: It is finished!
Reading Guide for Mom and Dad:
Throughout history, covenants took place between people. Covenants took place between tribes, countries, and individuals. With a covenant, there is usually an exchange between the two parties. Exchanges of robes, clothes, or weapons are made between people or groups of people. Today we exchange rings, names, and vows in marriage.
Whatever Jesus was wearing they took it off and put on Him a scarlet robe. There is an exchange that is taking place here. He was wearing a certain robe, they took off this robe and they put on Him a scarlet robe.
Isaiah 1: 18 Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow: though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
When they put the scarlet robe on Jesus that robe represented our sins. So that was our scarlet robe that they put on Jesus. It was a symbolic picture of our sin.
What was Jesus wearing? Whatever Jesus was wearing was also a symbolic picture of the real robe He had on:
A Marriage Covenant was made when Jesus died on the cross. At the cross, this marriage covenant was sealed with His blood. If He was going to the cross to make a marriage covenant, then surely He should have been dressed as the Bridegroom on His way to the cross.
Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
When Jesus was dressed as the Bridegroom, He was clothed with the garments of salvation, clothed with the robe of righteousness. The robe is a symbolic picture of righteousness. When they stripped Him, they took off His robe of righteousness and put onto Him the robe of Sin/Scarlet.
This robe of scarlet is a symbolic picture of our sin.
An exchange was made for us: He gave us a robe of righteousness and took onto Himself the robe of sin.
2 Cor 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
This marriage is a marriage in community of property. When we enter into this marriage: whatever belongs to Christ now belongs to the Bride, to us. If we enter into the marriage with sin, our sin becomes His. His righteousness becomes our righteousness. Jesus takes the sin, and He goes to the Cross and He dies. Because the wages of sin are death. And as He dies, He deals with sin once and for all. He rises again and the marriage is based only on righteousness. There is no sin left in the marriage. It was the final sacrifice. All sin was dealt with at the Cross.
If this was not a marriage covenant we would still be in our sin. But Jesus took all sin onto Himself because it is a marriage covenant.
Conversation Starters with the little ones:
What does it mean when you trade a toy with a friend?
When you trade something do you ever get it back?
Do you now own the toy that you traded?
What do you think about trading something old and dirty for something brand new?
Jesus gave us His robe of righteousness for our scarlet robe of sin. He died on the cross and dealt with sin completely, once and for all. When He rose again the marriage was based only on righteousness.
Take some time to recap lesson 9 with the little ones. The Crown of Thorns was exchanged for the Crown of Glory. I've included resources below that you can download.
Teach them to Rule and Multiply:
Our family enjoys a "braai" on most Friday or Saturday nights. While we sat around the fire we talked about our own sin. I started with things that I did wrong as a child growing up. My little ones enjoy these stories immensely (yes, Mom also has faults and also makes wrong choices!). I enjoy their nervous giggles! We talked about God's forgiveness and Mercy. This is not the space for discipline but to build up their precious hearts. I had some cards and markers ready beforehand and gave them the opportunity to write down anything that they would like to ask forgiveness for. Always lead by example: I wrote down a few wrong choices that they knew about. We did this together and I prayed a simple prayer. Something like this: "Lord Jesus, I give You all my sins and wrong choices, I ask You today to forgive me and to fill me with Your Holy Spirit".
We threw the cards into the fire and watched while it burned to ash. Take this moment to explain that God forgives our sins and He doesn't remember it anymore. It is as far as the East is from the West. It is FINISHED!
Kettle Prayer suggestions:
Lord Jesus, thank You for the finished work of the Cross. Open my children's eyes to who they are IN You. Let them realize that they have been clothed with righteousness. Amen
Visual aid - you are welcome to download this visual aid for your own personal use:
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